This chapter covers two major events: the re-anointing of David as king paralleled by the crowning of Ish-bosheth as king, and a bloody conflict between the two opposing armies (which we won’t focus on at the moment).
“And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim, and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel.” (v3-4,8-9)
Though three of Saul’s sons died, three still remain. Ish-bosheth, though crowned king over Israel, is a pretender to the throne. He is crowned by Abner, Saul’s general, who now becomes Ish-bosheth’s general.
In contrast, David was anointed king by God and Samuel: “Now [David] was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, ‘Arise, anoint him, for this is he.’ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.” (1 Sam 16:12b-13a)
Unfortunately, we still do the same thing today, serving a false king and pretender to the throne. No, I’m not talking about political elections, I’m talking about sovereignty in the spiritual realm, and submitting our hearts to the correct authority.
I won’t quote the lengthy passage, but in Jn 8:39-47 Jesus is speaking to Jews, Pharisees and scribes in the temple. He indicates that there are two kings (or ‘fathers’) from whom we can choose – God, or Satan – and we cannot simultaneously obey both kings.
We are also told that Satan is the (temporary) ruler of this world and he blinds those who follow him: “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 Jn 5:19) “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers…” (2 Cor 4:4a) “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” (Jn 12:31)
I encourage us to continue serving Jesus, our Lord and King. It’s so easy to be blinded and distracted by the pretender king of this world, yet in the ultimate confrontation we know that King Jesus will prevail and Satan will be banished / destroyed for all eternity. God anointed Jesus to be the rightful King over us, whether we choose to obey Him or not – so why not choose to follow Him before it’s too late?
Father God, our Gracious and Merciful Creator, great and mighty is Your name. Thank you for anointing Jesus as our Lord and King, for He is a gentle and loving ruler. Thank you for freeing us from the bondage of slavery to Satan, the temporary ruler of this world. Father please help us to resist the devil and his wiles, standing firm on Your promises and guidance. May we gratefully and obediently serve You all of our days, forever and ever, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training